Reason's Neglect Rationality and Organizing

by Townley, Barbara

• ISBN13: 9780199298358
• ISBN10: 0199298351
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-09-15
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

"Reason's Neglect does three things. First, it argues that rationality is a leitmotif of organization studies, one that has often been neglected. Second, it deploys Foucault's work to uncover neglected approaches to understanding rationality. In doing this, it allows for a revised exploration of key subjects in organization studies: bureaucracy, technology, culture, practice etc., and organization theory itself. Finally, the book presents an example of new rational management techniques being introduced in an organization and, by allowing individuals to 'speak for themselves', examines how they respond to these innovations, and how they make sense of them."--BOOK JACKET.

Author Biography

Professor Barbara Townley was awarded her PhD from the London School of Economics. She taught at Lancaster, Warwick, and Edinburgh universities in the UK, and at the University of Alberta, Canada, before taking up her present position at the University of St. Andrews. Her work has been published in leading North American and European journals including Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Management Studies, Organization Studies, Human Relations, Organization, and Accounting, Organization, and Society. She is the author of the widely cited Reframing Human Resource Management (Sage, 1994) which offered a Foucauldian critique of HRM. She has been Associate Editor of Human Relations, and serves on the editorial boards of Human Relations, Journal of Management Studies, Organization, and Strategic Organization.

Table of Contents

Figure
List of Boxes
Foucault and rationality	p. 1
Disembedded Rationality	p. 22
Economic rationality	p. 27
Bureaucratic rationality	p. 46
Technocratic rationality	p. 66
Embedded Rationality	p. 90
Institutional rationality	p. 95
Contextual rationality	p. 113
Situational rationality	p. 132
The 'Other' of Reason	p. 154
Embodied rationality	p. 159
Conclusions	p. 189
Collective rationality	p. 189
Practical reason	p. 206
Appendix	p. 220
Notes	p. 222
References	p. 251
Glossary	p. 274
Index	p. 276
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